2011-2012 Leafs

[jn_12]

Norfolk is a very very good team and have to be seen as the favourite in the finals. They put together a league record 28-game winning streak late in the season and they have the AHL's MVP and Rookie of the Year in Cory Conacher and the AHL's d-man of the year in Mark Barberio. The Marlies have a lot of injuries right now and they'll need Frattin to continue carrying the team on his back

I used to like the leafs.

But then they changed this team completely. It does not have that character that it used to. I just don't have much love for it.
And then to get verseteeg from chicago for like nothing, and to lose him to florida (where he's producing like a point per game) for nothing... a big slap in the face. Sigh.




I don't care about the marlies. AHL will always be second tier, something that most fans don't care about much.

I don't like the Leafs at all but I can at least recognize when they make a smart deal. First of all, Versteeg was traded to Philly by the Leafs (not Florida) and it was for a 1st round pick and a 3rd round pick, which is excellent value (especially when you consider that Florida traded a 2nd and 3rd for him months later). With those picks they selected Stuart Percy, who will be an NHL d-man (maybe with a top 4 ceiling) and Josh Leivo who had a breakout season this year in Sudbury. So to call that nothing suggests that you don't really follow things too closely.

As for the AHL being something most fans don't care about, you're probably right, but I would also suggest that second tier hockey is beloved by a lot of people. Just look at the success of Junior hockey, or the AHL in markets like Winnipeg (pre-Jets). There are AHL teams who get more fans than NHL teams and possess many of the future stars that will play in the NHL. If people can't recognize that, and the very good level of play (which I think the casual fan would barely be able to distinguish from the NHL) it's mainly due to ignorance.

 

[Jonny5]

Next year The Leafs will be playing in the NHL Winter Classic against the Detroit Red Wings. This is the NHL's signature game over New Years.

As a part of the participation, The Leafs will be followed for the HBO documentary series NHL 24/7, which is known to give a very frank and open look at the lives of the players in on the ice and off.

Nothing is censored...

[video=youtube;Ph-9ZBYRHSs]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ph-9ZBYRHSs[/video]

24/7 has proven to be a very popular show, even in the US, and has produced some breakout stars, like Ilya Bryzgalov from last year's participants, the Philadelphia Flyers:

[video=youtube;O-FvRyQOlbc]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O-FvRyQOlbc[/video]

[video=youtube;XsDKXzZFH6o]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XsDKXzZFH6o[/video]

I cannot wait to see our guys on it.

This will actually be high profile vent for Toronto. 24/7 does a pretty good job of portraying the lives of the players, their failies and the cities they live in.

The Winter Classic itself will be in a Detroit suburb, in a football stadium. It seats 100,000, but it is actually expected that well over half the tickets will wind up in the hands of current Leafs and Red Wings Season Ticket Holders and NHL players, and staff. So you can expect to pay a steep premium to go to this game.

 

[Jonny5]

Draft day!

1st round - Morgan Rielly - Western Hockey League - Defence - Born: West Vancouver
2nd round - Matt Finn – Ontario Hockey League - Defence - Born: Toronto
5th round - Domenic Toninato - Minnesota High School League - Born: Duluth
6th round - Connor Brown – Ontario Hockey League - Right Wing - Born: Etobicoke
6th round - Ryan Rupert – Ontario Hockey League - Centre - Born: Grand Bend, ON
7th round - Viktor Lööv – Swedish Major Junior Leagues - Defence - Born: Södertälje, Sweden

So Burke broke with the consensus taking Rielly in the first round instead of Forsberg or Grigorenko, but so did the five GM's who picked after him too, which is unusual. Either something came up at the combine with these two or the media's scouts had them vastly overrated. Either way, I am okay with how things turned out. There was no way we were going to get a player to help out starting October, so adding to our prospect depth was great.

That being said, Burke's career as Leaf's GM is now riding on signing a deal for for either Luongo or a star centre over the summer. We can't roll next year with what we had in March.

 

[jn_12]

Grigorenko has been getting torn apart by everyone in the scouting community over the last 3 months. He was a consensus 1b in April and fell to 12th. Buffalo got a steal there. People seem to be blaming his poor playoff performance, but it's not like he was the only one (Yakupov's playoff numbers weren't good either). Others think that a long-standing rumour that he's not actually 18 years old but actually 20 could be why teams were passing on him.

As for Forsberg, I think teams were really unsure if he had the offensive upside worthy of a top pick. In just about every international competition he was outscored by his teammate Sebastien Collberg and Collberg didn't get picked until the high 2nd round. I think he'll do well in Washington, but I can understand why a team would pass on him at 5.

As for Rielly, many thought he would have been the best d-man in the draft if he hadn't of been out for most of the year with a knee injury. His talent level is very comparable to Drew Doughty and it was a very good pick by Burke. It seems as though they were after Alex Galchenyuk (my personal fave in this draft) who would have been that 1st line centre they're coveting but Montreal took him at 3.

Speaking of which, Montreal had an amazing draft getting Galchenyuk, the aforementioned Collberg (who many thought would go in the 10-15 range), Dalton Thrower who is possibly the 3rd or 4th best offensive d-man in the draft, Tim Bozon and Charles Hudon. Just great picks all over the board. I also like what Buffalo did getting Grigorenko and Girgensens, which will give them great 1st and 3rd line centres for the next ten years.

 

[Jonny5]

Luke Schenn traded to Philly for van Reimsdyk.

I always thought Schenn had upside but just couldn't realise it under Wilson. I hoped Carlyle could bring it out of him but now we'll never know. I have always liked JvR and thought he took some undeserved criticism in Philly, so in the end, I am happy with the trade. In fact I actually think this is one of those rare trades that is good for both teams. I bet Schenn will have a blast playing with his brother.

 

[Jonny5]

Mats Sundin makes he Hockey Hall of Fame on his first ballot. Of course, it's controversial, everything the HHOF committee does is controversial. But everyone who deserves to be there gets there eventually. Mats Deserves to be there.

But really the best Sundin moment "speaks" for itself.... PING!

[video=youtube;Rxdky7ycccg]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rxdky7ycccg[/video]

 

[syn]

I like Sundin but no way he's a 1st ballot Hall of Fame player. No awards, no team success...he was never even a 1st team All Star. He was very good for a long time, which is not good enough to make it on the 1st ballot.

Sakic was easily a 1st ballot player.

 

[syn]

Luke Schenn traded to Philly for van Reimsdyk.

I always thought Schenn had upside but just couldn't realise it under Wilson. I hoped Carlyle could bring it out of him but now we'll never know. I have always liked JvR and thought he took some undeserved criticism in Philly, so in the end, I am happy with the trade. In fact I actually think this is one of those rare trades that is good for both teams. I bet Schenn will have a blast playing with his brother.

I thought Schenn was the type of player you need to win Championships.

JVR is good, but I've found him overrated and already very injury prone.

 

[Jonny5]

RIP Leo Korolev, Alexander Karpotsev, and Wade Belak. Even with a likely lockout I would have traded this off-season for the last to still have them alive.

[video=youtube;qOFDRF1dRXQ]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qOFDRF1dRXQ[/video]

Note at EDIT: 2:25 Jay Rosehill #38 balling his eyes out. He may be awful at hockey, but he is a real man.